Health

The Health Technical Committee (HTC) is responsible for advising industry and other sections of the Energy Institute on all health issues relevant to the International Oil and wider Energy sector. This will cover the health aspects of employees, customers and the general public who may be impacted by the activities and products of the industry.

Membership of HTC is formed from a range of companies operating both upstream and downstream in the UK and internationally. The HTC also includes members from the wider energy and power generation industry, the Health and Safety Executive and other associations such as the British Occupational Health Research Foundation and Oil and Gas UK. HTC members are generally registered medical practitioners, or certified occupational hygienists, or senior medical professionals within their organisation.

Technical work is divided between the HTC and the Occupational Health and Hygiene Committee. The main outputs include: publications which provide guidance to assist industry operation; position statements on evolving issues; research reports on key medical issues; and expert summaries on emerging issues. The HTC also supports Oil and Gas UK in the development of its Offshore Medical Guidelines for Examining Doctors. Emphasis is on sharing best practice and ensuring knowledge is transferred between different industry sectors, liaising with other relevant bodies worldwide to ensure consistency of approach. Members of HTC also provide technical input to Government, Regulators and other organisations on medical and health aspects of industry operations.

Key areas of current and recent interest include:

Functional capacity evaluation of the workforce

Emergency response team fitness requirements

Health surveillance guidance

Pandemic flu and contingency planning

Epidemiological study on effects of exposure to benzene

Legionellosis risk management

Guidelines on occupational illness reporting.

If your company is interested in participating in the technical work of the Health Technical Committee or the Occupational Health and Hygiene Committee, or would like more information, please contact Beate Hildenbrand e: bhildenbrand@energyinst.org